What Is Foot Traffic Attribution in Geofencing?

Foot traffic attribution answers the question: "Did someone who saw my ad actually visit my store?" It works by placing a conversion zone — a virtual boundary — around the advertiser's physical location. When a device that was previously served an ad is later detected inside the conversion zone, that visit is recorded as a verified attribution event.

How Foot Traffic Attribution Works Step by Step

1. Ad impression served: A device enters the geofenced target area (a competitor's location, an event venue, a neighborhood) and is served a targeted ad.
2. Device ID recorded: The mobile advertising ID (MAID) of the device is logged in the campaign's audience segment along with the timestamp of the ad impression.
3. Conversion zone monitoring: A separate geofence is drawn around the advertiser's own business location — this is the conversion zone.
4. Visit detected: When the same device ID is detected inside the conversion zone within the attribution window (typically 1–30 days), the visit is recorded as a verified store visit driven by the ad campaign.
5. Reported in real time: Mediavision2020's Chattabase dashboard displays verified visits, walk-in rate, as the campaign runs.

Key Foot Traffic Attribution Metrics

Why Foot Traffic Attribution Matters

Before foot traffic attribution, digital advertising for brick-and-mortar businesses was measured only by clicks and online conversions — metrics that miss the majority of actual business outcomes (in-store purchases, service bookings, test drives). Foot traffic attribution closes this gap by providing a direct, verifiable link between digital ad spend and physical business results.

For businesses like car dealerships, medical practices, restaurants, and retail stores, foot traffic attribution is often a more meaningful KPI than cost-per-click — because the visit is where the sale actually happens.